Why US must stand firm against ICC warrants for Netanyahu

On November 21st, the United States and Israel strongly criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC) for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 

and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant. 

The warrants unjustly accuse Netanyahu and Gallant of “crimes against humanity and war crimes” relating to Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.

In a lame attempt to look balanced, the ICC also issued a warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, even though Israel says it killed that terrorist leader in July.

President Biden called the ICC’s action against Israeli leaders “outrageous” and said, “there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called the ICC’s action “baseless and illegitimate” and said the court “has no authority over Israel or the United States.” 

The Speaker said, “Israel is fighting a just war for survival, and the ICC is attempting to equate Israeli officials to the evil terrorists who perpetrated the October 7th massacre.”

Hamas terrorists brutally murdered more than 1,200 Israeli citizens on that dark day in 2023 and took hundreds more hostage. 

Several Americans were also killed or taken hostage that day.

On June 4th, 2024, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8282, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, to impose sanctions on the ICC.  

Speaker Johnson called the House’s action a “necessary response” to the ICC’s “outrageous and unfounded claims of authority.”

In light of the ICC’s latest charges against Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel’s former defense minister, 

Speaker Johnson says the U.S. Senate should vote immediately on the bipartisan legislation the House passed in June, 

and that President Biden should take clear steps to prevent these warrants from being enforced.

If Senate Majority Leader Schumer and President Biden do not act now, the Speaker said,

 “they will most assuredly invite future lawfare against Israel and the United States. We cannot afford to show weakness.” 

Congressman Michael Waltz of Florida, President-elect Trump’s designee to be National Security Advisor, said Israel had acted “lawfully” during the war in Gaza and declared, 

“You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January.”

Israel is an important ally to the United States and they deserve our support. 

America needs to show bipartisan resolve in standing against terrorist organizations like Hamas that brutally murder innocent people and pose a grave threat to peace in the Middle East and elsewhere.